It’s part head-in-the-sand and part “well, I’m not gonna die, so bring it!”

I used to do a stand-up bit* about how if someone calls me “brave” I think they’re really saying I'm kookoo or I haven't thought things through.

Like "You're actually gonna eat sushi from a buffet on a Sunday? How brave!"(I would only do that with cooked sushi, like eel roll. That's ok, right?)

Or, “You’re taking your kids AND the neighbors’ kids to Disneyland by yourself!? You’re so brave!”(These are hypothetical. The real brave ones in that scenario would be the neighbors for entrusting me with their kids in an unenclosed area.)

​*I retired the bit when Amy Schumer talked about “brave” in her show. I’m not saying she stole it. Her thing was a bit different, and it’s not like I made up the word, but still...

Anyway, I’ve decided to embrace my inner BRAZY.

We shot a video in our house last weekend. With children. Lots of children. And 10 cast members. And It was 100 degrees outside so the kids had to be inside all day. With hot lights. And scrims over the windows to block out the light and make it look like nighttime, which served to also heat up the place. We were blasting the AC but it still felt like a sauna and we were dancing while crossing our fingers the power didn't go out while we were filming. And there was a lot of liquid involved. On the rug that I used to care about.

And the kids were around after we finished their part. And I was performing in the video, while doing what seemed like hosting a party that lasted twelve hours.

We were lucky to have an amazing, talented crew, and great help for the kids. But if you have small children, you know you cannot be in the same house and expect them to ignore you, even if there’s a babysitter around. Especially with a babysitter around. If I’m in the vacinity but not available, my kids will come up with things to need from me. And then I feel like a monster for telling them I'm not available when I'm standing right there.

Right before I shot a scene, the kids needed juice. But they didn’t want grape juice. We were out of orange juice. ​No, you can’t have Gatorade, we’re using that for the shoot. Maybe when we’re done. I don’t know when that will be. This is crazy. And/or brave.

My husband wrote/directed and played the lead in the video. He so brazy.

Even though it was insane, the shoot was a blast. ​You gotta be brazy to do really fun stuff.

Join the mailing list!

Author

Marian Belgray's an L.A.-based standup comic and writer/producer who's contributed to HBO, Cinemax, Nickmom, Comedy Central, Pampers, Funny or Die, and ​Parents.com, with articles and comedy videos.Marian’s performed at clubs around Los Angeles, including The Comedy Store, The Improv, IOWest, UCB, The Virgil, and Akbar. She's the creator and host of CUFirstTuesday, a comedy show the first Tuesday of every month in Silverlake, and a certified writer for Comedywire. She posts about her thoughts and biznatch here and on social media. She hopes you appreciate it.You can follow her here: